Early Christmas gift, or Late for Thanksgiving, You decide!
Recommended Music: Another Stranger Me (Blind Guardian)
The cityscape wasn't quite how he remembered it. All the grandeur was there, skyscrapers stretching higher and higher to scratch the heavens hidden in gray clouds, but below in the streets water raged like a flood in a storm. Water churned and thrashed against the monolithic buildings, protesting their very existence.
The buildings themselves were no longer the clean white towers they once were. They appeared as shadows of their former glory. Rain and wind and the pounding of a relentless storm had shorn away all but a few scraps of its whiteness, leaving the world a dull, water-logged gray.
The only thing familiar was the altered gravity. Ichigo Kurosaki, the orange-haired Substitute Shinigami, stood on the face of a building as if it were normal; to his left, the sea, and the clouds to his right. And ahead of him sat the reason he needed to return here.
Some of the buildings showed some structural damage and this one was no different. Long, twisted iron bars jutted out of its side like a long-dead corpse's ribs, and sitting atop one such beam, Ichigo's Hollow.
"Hey King," he waved one pale white hand at his landlord, "To what do I owe the pleasure?" This Inner Hollow wore all-white where Ichigo himself wore black, wore similar hakama and a similar long-coat. Even his hair was white. But his eyes were all black, pupil and sclera, with only a yellow iris to know where his gaze fell.
Ichigo didn't answer at first. He wasn't sure how this would play out. Every other time he came here he put his soul on the line. His last visit to his Inner World found Ichigo with his own sword lodged in his guts.
"I thought Zangetsu would be here," he said flatly.
The Hollow chuckled and let one leg dangle over the edge of his perch, "Still on that, are we? Shit guy, find some new lines."
Ichigo slowly nodded. He guessed this would happen after what happened atop Las Noches, Aizen's Palace in the Hollow World, Hueco Mundo. The…the new mask probably meant the Hollow was back in control of Zangetsu.
"Alright, Zangetsu," he grumbled darkly, "What the hell was that?"
"I don't know what you mean," the Hollow said innocently.
"The hell you do! What was that mask I had on top of Las Noches?"
The Hollow's smile never left his face. "Oh…you mean this mask?" Slowly he reached behind him and produced the Hollow mask. It looked similar to Ichigo's older one, but the red marks fell across both eyes now. Two massive horns grew out of the mask, becoming deadly sharp at their tips. The mask looked to enclose Ichigo's head completely with itself and a long orange mane that grew out the back. It was fearsome, beastly.
The Hollow continued, "What's wrong, King? This little baby saved your life, didn't it?"
"Don't give me that crap!" Ichigo cried, "You got in the way between me and Ulquiorra! If you hadn't interfered…!"
The Hollow's face changed suddenly. He glared down from where he sat, snarling, "If I hadn't interfered! What are you, a fucking child!"
In an instant he was only a few yards away from Ichigo, standing on the same building. "If it weren't for me, you'd be dead at that idiot Renji's feet back when you invaded the Seretei! Remember my mask?"
Ichigo's mind launched itself backwards, only a few months really, and yet an entire lifetime ago. He had struck out with his friends, Chad, Orihime, and Uryu against Soul Society to rescue Rukia from her execution. Back then, he didn't know what was the strange mask that…that blocked Renji Abarai's zanpakuto, stopped its teeth from striking him dead.
The Hollow continued, "Or how about Zaraki? Where do you think all that power came from? You thought you pulled all that power outta your ass! Fuck, I should have let Byakuya kill you on top of that hill!"
It all came back. Every fight, every fight since the very beginning either went against Ichigo, bringing out the Hollow, or he only hung on with his hollow mask. Byakuya, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra…
"Oh great, it's raining!" the Hollow threw up his arms. Ichigo noticed now the droplets hitting the side of his face.
"Every time you despair this happens! I gotta tell ya King, it's a real pain in the ass." The Hollow turned his coat up to block some of the rain from his face. "Seriously, knock it off! The whole city'll submerge at this rate!"
Ichigo didn't hear him. His mind was racing. What was that last thought?
"On top of Las Noches," he began, catching his Hollow's attention, "you took over."
The Hollow snorted, "Huh, yeah dumbass."
"So you were in complete control?"
"What is it with you? Yes! I was in control," he said impatiently. What was the King doing wasting his time with this bullshit? When was he gonna demand more power so they could fight?
Ichigo continued, "And you're supposed to be all instincts, right?"
"Alright King, I'm getting' really pissed at all this shit you're saying! Spit it out!"
For the first time that the Hollow could remember, Ichigo looked straight into his eyes. "So, it was your instinct to save Orihime."
"I…I never said that!" defensively.
Ichigo pressed the attack, "And you've said before that you're my instincts."
"What are you trying to pull here?" The Hollow stepped back a bit as Ichigo began to advance. Did he realize he was moving?
It was Ichigo's turn to smile. "I know you're name."
They were only a foot apart. The Hollow knew his heels were almost hanging over the edge of the building, but only the King held his true attention. A single droplet of sweat trickled down the bridge of his nose as he stared into that strangely mirrored smile. Damn his smugness!
"Ichigo Kurosaki."
The Hollow leapt away from the building, resting high up and away from the King. He turned his glare back upon Ichigo and held his gaze.
"Keep your crummy, hand-me-down name!" he cried, "I'm fine bein' nameless!"
"You can't hide from it!" Ichigo hollered back, "You're me!"
The Hollow fired back, "Don't you get it! You just admitted being part Hollow!"
A long silence passed again. Ichigo's eyes grew distant, watching memories played upon an internal screen. What the Hollow said was true.
"Yeah," he said simply, "yeah that's right. But I figure," he locked gaze with the Hollow again, "if you still care about what I care about, even if it's at such a basic level, maybe it's not all bad being a Hollow. Shit, I've met a couple today that're pretty okay, if a bit weird."
Hollow Ichigo said nothing. He continued to stare at his landlord, his King. Was that it? Did he forget his mother so soon?
No, he didn't. Hollow Ichigo knew his King didn't. But that kid always knew how to put others before himself, and even the Hollow knew why Ichigo needed all the power he could get. He was going up against monsters.
His smile returned. It wasn't like they were merging or anything! It was just a little cozier is all.
"You realize you won't be 'you' anymore, right?" he asked, "not entirely anyway?"
Ichigo didn't hesitate. "Yeah. But I figure, same applies to you."
The Hollow threw back his head and let out a peal of laughter. "Oh! Ah shit king, you're gonna love being me!"